woot! finished reading The Dangerous Days of Daniel X with boy2001 just now.  Let me start off by saying, I LOVE the idea and premise of this book!  Getting boys to read is not the easiest thing to do, stories are often too frilly or just “boring” to them, getting the right mix of substance and adventure is not an easy task.

Boy2001 had a strong reaction as soon as he saw the book, it looks grown up, no cartoony characters on the cover, it looks like a man-book which he loved.  I sent him in his room to start reading and planned to read it at night while he slept so we could discuss.  He wasn’t gone two minutes when he came back and told me he didn’t want to read it.  I was perplexed and asked him why and he explained that the parents are killed.

Keep in mind he’s never flat out refused to read something, so I told him to put it down and I’ll read it to him a little later.  He again had a strong reaction to the parents being killed (chapter 1) but as the pages turned he slowly became more interested.

The unbelievable aliens were a special interest to boy2001 and of course the made up words like “drangs” which means a friendship bond. He became engrossed in battling aliens and talk of mastodons and ticks.  On top of that, which boy doesn’t dream of having secret abilities?

From a mom’s point of view, it was a worthwhile read for boy2001.  I had initially planned on him reading this story alone but there are so many themes that require discussion and his reluctance to explore this big boy book on his own required me to read aloud.  I did like that this character was able to survive the death of his parents, although we never wish it, things do happen.  My son now knows that he can handle anything, even losing us! 

It’s a quick enough read but boy2001 wanted to stop and talk about things so it did take us a week of evenings to get through. I’m keeping it on his bookshelf in the closest for another read when he’s older.  Let me know your thoughts…

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge available @ Amazon

Described as “Spider-Man meets Men in Black in this heart-stopping novel from James Patterson, author of the bestselling books Maximum Ride and When the Wind Blows.  Read an interview on Borders

www.eSwaddle.com™ Grand Opening! Where the World of Luxury Meets Convenience…

 A luxuriously soft blanket is the perfect gift for a new mom and baby.  Beautifully crafted, SwaddleDesign Receiving Blanket is the choice of moms who demand the best of quality and style.  When the babies are little it’s really nice to give them extra security and wrap them but many moms are unsure on how to do this.  When boy2001 was born I asked the nurse (several times) to help me swaddle him.  I practiced relentlessly until I got a good technique down.  For boy2001 he would only tolerate one hand being tucked in, he wanted his other little hand by his face… it was sooo cute!!

Even summer babies need to be swaddled but it is harder when it’s hot, that’s where the swaddle designs come in.  They offer the perfect weight and styles for swaddling in any season.  I love the little tag with the swaddling instructions!!

www.eSwaddle.com is the best source for sophisticated mothers and those who shop for them. With a simple click of a mouse, shoppers will discover that they could find everything they need in one shop! From SwaddleDesigns new Summer Swaddle™ to their award winning and signature product, the Ultimate Receiving Blanket® with coordinating Baby Burpies™ and Baby Lovie™, SwaddleDesigns is a beloved brand for style seeking moms and celebrities alike.

Did your parents go to extraordinary lengths to get you the must have toys?  To my knowledge my mother did once, she braved a store to get me a cabbage patch doll.  Now, the next thing I am going to say is sure to ruffle some feathers, I didn’t even want it.

I don’t recall EVER asking for a specific toy.  I had no clue about what toys to ask for I think.  I went to school, walked home and was a latch key kid.  I had one friend in my building that I was authorized to call for some play time.  She didn’t have a lot of toys, she was the only girl I really played with at home.  She had more than I did but didn’t have ’it’ toys.  We both had very plain rooms, books, a doll or two, a few teddy bears and posters.

Being a latch key kid I did watch a LOT Of television but I don’t recall any toy ads during them.  I do have to admit I would do my homework during the commercials so maybe I was occupied and not paying attention and I didn’t watch kid cartoons.  I watched Little House, What’s Happenning, Gilligan’s Island, HBO, etc…  I wanted toys in general but not anything specific to my recollection.

As far as what I’d do, I think my response would be: not much.

I can’t imagine going very far to get a toy for my kids.  I feel there are enough issues in the world, children without food, etc… If companies don’t make enough toys to meet demand then my kids will have to wait until demand dies down.  I would call around maybe, drive an hour or so to pick up if it was really all the hotness.

I’d be much more likely to buy online, especially during a FREE Shipping Blitz!  now through August 2, you can shop Hasbro’s Hot Summer Toys and get free shipping!  You can trust Hasbro, not one of their toys has been linked to the concerns on lead in children’s toys! Check out Hasbro’s Safety Standards. 

I am seriously contemplating the Baby Alive items, Furreal Friends stuff and Monopoly game.  If you’d like to read about more parent experiences in toy shopping head on over to PBN.  I can’t help but be impressed with Hasbro, for every toy purchased during their Hot Summer Toys Event, they will donate one (up to $400,000) to economically disadvantaged children.

My kids have been loving Doodle Doug, we’ve seen the commercials for so long. I finally broke down when girl2004 went to redeem her $3 birthday coupon.  Doodle Doug was marked down to about $5 so I was expecting to pay $2.xx out of pocket and very happy with that situation.  When the cashier announced the total, $.36 I was floored.  The box was damaged a little so maybe they discounted it further.  Anyway, he works very well, his head is wobbly and falls off quite a bit, but other than that you just need a big sheet of paper and let him entertain.

Hope you get one at a great price!

Once upon a time, a man and a lady spent lots of time away from home.  Beach trips, site seeing and club hopping topped the list.  Every few months they went on a new adventure to a distant land.  After 6 years of marriage boy2001 joined the family and the vacations turned into memories.  There were diapers to buy and a college fund to build.

They made little side trips to Montreal & Quebec and visited family in Florida and New York but the all American family vacation didn’t happen. 

Ok, enough with the fairytale, you get the point, we led a charmed life, travel, disposable income, etc…  then we became a one income military household with child.  We’ve taken two full-blown vacations since that special delivery in 2001.  The first was a Carnival Cruise in 2003.  Boy2001 had a BLAST, we loved the childcare, it was my first time EVER being away from him and they did a great job.  Totally amazing experience, it was all inclusive which was wonderful, once you pay you’re done.

The second vacation was in May 2007 we packed all three kids up to go to France.  That’s right, we added not one but two girls since our last vacay! It was wonderful for us to see the sites and introduce the kids to the history of France.  The kids were most impressed with the Eiffel Tower and castles, they still talk about it all the time.   It was of course a very expensive trip, even with family in the area to feed us a few meals and give us great advice.  Well worth it of course but getting further out of reach for most people with the dollar being so weak.

It makes sense to look for all-inclusive deals that will feed, lodge, entertain and make you and your kids feel well rested and relaxed. Beaches Resorts is offering just that!  There are swim-up bars, tennis, fitness centers, not to mention anytime snacks, gourmet and specialty cuisine restaurants for you to choose from.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner without shopping, chopping or dishes.

Roundtrip airport transfers, hotel taxes and ALL gratuities are included in the price.  All of this is great but what will the kids think?  I know mine would go crazy for the muppet activities aka Caribbean Adventures with Sesame Street®.  Some of the adventures are story time with Elmo, baking cookies with Cookie Monster?!! Dance moves with Zoe, exploring with Grover.  Girl2004 and Girl2006 would lose it, they’re completely into the characters but I think even boy2001 would allow himself to get involved with these activitites if he was with his sisters. 

I know all the kids would fully enjoy trips to the XBOX 360® Game Garage, we broke out the old Nintendo 64 and I was shocked at how quickly boy2001 and girl2004 picked up on it.  By now you may be thinking, my family could use a Beaches vacation.

  where do I sign up?

Just visit the Beaches Resort WonderFall website to request a quote on your favorite resort.  The WonderFALL celebration will take place between September 1 and November 4, 2008, save up to 45% and get two nights free (when you stay 7). Check out all the contests, goodie bags a new stage show and more on Beaches’ WonderFALL website and please keep me posted if you do go!  You must book by July 17th to get the special pricing.  Choose from family Beaches Boscobel, Sandy Bay, Negril, Turks & Caicos.

This is written in connection with Mom Central, a great organization for women who want to be heard.

Boy2001 has gone through almost all of the Kumon line.  They’ve been fun, sometimes challenging but interesting and most of all educational.    Now that I’m looking for more workbooks for girl2004 I’m getting sticker shock!  I guess that’s why I’ve been hanging out at the dollar store so much, they’ve got some great workbooks there for just a $1.  So the short of it is, I love the Kumon line but they are a bit pricey at $7 each!

I’m just now getting the newsflash that June is Junie B. Jones month.  After a full school year of seeing these books in boy2001′s hand I’ve come to accept the fact that I may not always understand his reading choices. 

Maybe I should even care if it motivates him to get through a chapter book in a few hours! He thinks they’re funny…  what do you think, is any reading good reading? 

There are some cute activities on Junie’s page.

My little girls have cute but high maitenance curls.  Basically, I HAVE to shampoo their hair in the morning if I want them to have light bouncy curls.  If I wash at night and let them sleep on it, or even if I braid it, the result is the same, flattenned out, lackluster curls in the morning.

Washing their hair almost every morning is one thing, combing through it is another.  Especially girl2004′s hair because it’s very long.  She has a lot of thin curly hair.  I’ve used grown up treatments on her with some success.  The only problem is if they were leave in, they weighed her hair down, or made it feel greasy. 

Cutie Pie Curls detangles almost on contact, it’s amazing.  It turned a 40 minute job into a 20 minute job.  No fuss or crying.

No parabens, no SLS, no DEA, no formaldehyde, no petroleum.  Also free of artifical fragrances and alcohol.

Cutie Pie Curlz’ Ingredients:

Water, aloe vera gel, lecithin (from soybeans), behentrimonium metroculfate (from canola oil), wheat amino acid, sodium PCA (an amino acid), grapefruit seed extract, allantoin (from comfrey root), panthenol (provitamin B5), honey extract, natural fragrances/essential oils of: pomegranate & lavender, alpha bisabolol (from chamomile)

Combine Cutie Pie Curlz with Kiddo Kream, read my Kiddo Kream review

I went through this with boy2001 and girl2004 and now girl2006 is totally obsessed with this book.  If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff illustrated by Felicia Bond is adorable.  My kids didn’t care for the If You Give a Moose a Muffin but this one has become a classic in our house.  I have GOT to buy this in hardcover, collectible format!

Do your children like to sing? Do they like you to sing?  During a recent moms meeting several moms revealed that their kids hated when they sang and asked them to stop.  I couldn’t believe it, my kids have always responded very well to my singing even though I can’t carry a note in a cup. 

I started out singing to all of them very early on and listening to their vocal attempts (attempts because their singing is almost as bad as mine).  We sing all kinds of things like Christmas songs in July and we often sing themes to t.v. shows we like and watch together like the Flintstones and Gilligan’s Island.

As a matter of fact I think there are two different types of people in the world. Those that like music and those that like tv videos.  I like having the CD and we have listened to it a few times in the car but for us, car time is basically quiet time since we don’t travel more than 15 minutes each way it’s a nice time for us to reflect and talk about the things we come across.  If we go on a roadtrip it’s totally different, we need music like fuel, but for everyday we get a lot more use out of the DVD.  girl2004 usually puts in what she wants during tv time and she has stopped Strawberry Shortcake and put in That Baby DVD which is saying a LOT for a 3 year old that loves Strawberry berry much.

For myself, I enjoy having things in our home that cross generations and bring us together as a family, That Baby DVD & CD are just that type of product – classic.  The visuals are stimulating and interesting to young children.  Mine stop and stare at the screen like deer in the headlights.  Need to see for yourself? Check out the sample vid.

I would also highly recommend That Baby CD for grandparent and grandchild together time, I’m already jumping ahead to the holiday season I guess! And while we’re on the forever upcoming holiday season and gift giving… That Baby DVD and CD would be a fab gift for that 2nd, 3rd, or 4th child’s arrival.  It’s technically for the baby but preschool siblings would be thrilled and it would give the new parents some breathing room to care for the new baby.  So think ahead and taking advantage of a great deal just for you on a product that will become ‘That Baby DVD” and “That Baby CD”.

Enter the coupon code “MotherTalk” when purchasing and save 20% on your entire order!
From now until May 18th, all orders using the coupon code “MotherTalk” will be entered in a drawing to win a new iPod nano!

That Baby DVD and That Baby CD @ Amazon